1

Maids greet a customer at the National Pastime bar. Video still by Alex Thompson.What's black and white and red all over?

At colorful Katsucon 16, one of the largest anime conventions on the East Coast, a group of men and women who've volunteered for the weekend to serve other guests while donning black-and-white uniforms, red uniforms and cat-ear headbands.

Reagan National Airport has used full-body scanners since last year. TSA recently used $15 million of stimulus money for another security measure: hand swabs, which will detect residue from explosives.: Photo by Kristin McGrath"Your Safety is Our Priority" is the Transportation Security Administration's motto. And in the midst of the Obama Administration's order of 500 full-body scanners for $240 million, another security measure has been added: "explosive trace detection" or ETD. 

Primal Fitness at 219 M St. is not your typical gym. The old fire station that it's housed in gets chilly and drafty in the winter. Black rubber mats line the floor, while the walls are exposed brick. Instructors wear T-shirts that read "Sofa King Tough." Workouts involve scaling walls, vaulting over barriers and clearing metal bars.

Primal Fitness is the world's first Parkour gym. As defined by American Parkour, an online community with 65,000 registered users worldwide, Parkour is "the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one's path by adapting one's movements to the environment."

Demonstrations after Iranian Election This Summer. By Flickr user yahyanatanzi, Creative Commons

On Thursday, Feb. 11, hundreds of thousands of protesters are expected to line the streets of Tehran for the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution—some in support of the government, while others in fierce opposition. The Iranian government will hold a celebration of the revolution, marking the end of the western-backed rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, or the Shah, and the beginning of the conservative era of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Net neutrality has been called many things, from “a solution in search of a problem” to “vital for the functioning of democracy,” but a quick Google trends search (pictured) shows that the matter still takes a back seat in the public’s eye when compared to other issues du jour, such as climate change, censorship, privacy and even the role of the federal reserve bank.

Despite a mostly uninterested (or uninitiated) public, paid and pro bono proponents for and against neutrality have been extremely vocal in their concerns, objections, and support of neutrality mandates.

But just what is it that gets these policy geeks and techno-wonks so fired up?

An anti-purple line sign near the intersection of Wayne Ave. and Dale Dr. Some are concerned about the effects the station here would have on the neighborhood: Photo by Kristin McGrath

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Lisa Goldberg, a Silver Spring resident, commutes to Rockville, Md., for work. Although she calls herself a “big advocate of public transportation,” she makes the 13-mile trip by car. Traveling by Metro would require a 50-minute journey on the Red Line or an hour-long bus trip with a transfer.

Goldberg hopes the Purple Line, the light rail system proposed by the state of Maryland that would connect the spokes of the Red Line at Silver Spring and Bethesda, is the answer. 

Matthew Henkes returned to his room at the Caribe Hotel in Port-au-Prince after a meeting with the Haitian Minister of the Environment. He was working as a USAID contractor on watershed initiatives designed to double the yield of Haiti’s farmers while teaching them more sustainable agricultural practices. The meeting had been stressful, and he needed to unwind. He removed his dress shirt, emptied his pockets onto the bed, took a deep breath and went toward the bathroom to splash cold water on his face.

Marceau and the Veterans for Peace group stand outside to remind passersby of the true cost of war.: photo by Keyana Farkondepay.Like the Vietnam War nearly a half-century before, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq lack strong support from the American public. Yet, the passion and power displayed by the opponents of the Vietnam War in marches and protests across the nation is largely absent from the current anti-war movement. Some attribute the difference to changes in media coverage, while others say a lack of shared sacrifice is responible for the relative lassitude of the Iraq and Afghanistan War critics. 

Anthony's Restaurant & Pizza in Falls Church, Va. opened 37 years ago: Photo by Carmer Castro for the American ObserverDespite a 40 percent decline in business in the last two years, Brinkley’s Restaurant & Lounge owner Hemm Shah refuses to cut the work hours of his employees.

“We’re still surviving,” says the owner of the Falls Church restaurant. “What I used to make, I don’t make it anymore but I will not cut their hours…as long as I can do it, I’ll do it.”

He counts on the services of a cook, three dish washers, a disc jockey and two members of his wait staff, all of whom have been with him for almost two decades.

Salvation Army employee Donnell Springs rings a bell in front of the King Street Giant supermarket in Alexandria, Va.
Photo by Brianna PellicaneIt's a familiar sign that the holidays are drawing near. The red kettle hangs under a tripod, topped by a festive Salvation Army sign outside the doors of supermarkets and malls. Perhaps even more familiar is the sound. A Salvation Army worker dutifully rings a bell to encourage and accompany the clank of a passerby's coins dropping in the kettle.